LIHU'E — The Army canceled a THAAD missile test planned for this afternoon at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i because of a "malfunction with the target missile," the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said.

The agency said the target did not have enough momentum to reach the open ocean area approved for a safe intercept near the facility. In a news release, the agency said the two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missiles taking part in the exercise were never launched.

Officials now will review data collected during the test to see why the target malfunctioned, the release said.

The problem occurred at 4:05 p.m. HST

The test originally was set for Monday, but was postponed by the Missile Defense Agency.

It would have been the fifth test of the developing THAAD missile (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) that has been conducted at the Navy-operated range on Kaua'i and the 10th test of the missile system in any location.

Several dozen Army soldiers from Fort Bliss, Texas, would have been "on alert" at the PMRF and would have fired on a target missile fired from the former USS Tripoli in waters northwest of Kaua'i — had it not malfunctioned, said Pam Rogers, Missile Defense Agency spokeswoman.

The soldiers would have detected the target missile with assistance from the Navy's Aegis weapons system, satellite equipment and ground-based equipment on Kaua'i, Rogers said. They would have fired, in rapid succession, two THAAD missiles at the target. If the first missile destroyed the target, the second would self-destruct, she said.

Several hundred military contractors and personnel are on Kaua'i for the test, which is the normal "surge" of personnel for a major missile test, Pacific Missile Range Facility spokesman Tom Clements said.

THAAD missiles are a component of the country's overall missile defense program, which is coordinated by the Missile Defense Agency in cooperation with the Army, Navy and Air Force.